Visual Characteristics of Menu Items

Visual Assistance With Menu Items

Introduction

In the previous lesson, we saw how to create a menu. Here is an example:

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Module Exercise

    Public Class Starter
        Inherits Form

        Private mnuMain As MenuStrip

        Private mnuFile As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFileNew As ToolStripMenuItem

        Dim components As System.ComponentModel.Container

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuFile = New ToolStripMenuItem("File")
            mnuFileNew = New ToolStripMenuItem("New")

            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileNew)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFile)

        End Sub

    End Class

    Function Main() As Integer

        Dim frmStart As Starter = New Starter

        Application.Run(frmStart)

        Return 0
    End Function

End Module

This would produce:

After creating a menu (main menu and contextual menu), there are various actions you can perform to improve it and there are many ways you can enhance the user's experience with your application. Menus provide various features such as access keys and shortcuts. There are also other things you can do such as grouping menus. Although some of these actions are not required to make an application useful, they can be necessary to make it more professional.

1. Start a new Windows Forms Application named SolasPropertyRental2
2. In the Solution Explorer, right-click Form1.vb and click Rename
3. Type Central.vb and press Enter twice (to display the form)
4. Change the properties of the form as follows:
   Text: Solas Property Rental
   StartPosition: CenterScreen
5. On the main menu, click Project -> Add Class...
6. Set the Name to RentalProperty and click Add
7. Change the file as follows:
    

   Public Class RentalProperty Private code As String Private type As String Private beds As Integer Private baths As Single Private rent As Double Private status As String Public Property PropertyCode() As String Get Return code End Get Set(ByVal value As String) code = value End Set End Property Public Property PropertyType() As String Get Return type End Get Set(ByVal value As String) type = value End Set End Property Public Property Bedrooms() As Integer Get Return beds End Get Set(ByVal value As Integer) beds = value End Set End Property Public Property Bathrooms() As Single Get Return baths End Get Set(ByVal value As Single) baths = value End Set End Property Public Property MonthlyRent() As Double Get Return rent End Get Set(ByVal value As Double) rent = value End Set End Property Public Property OccupancyStatus() As String Get Return status End Get Set(ByVal value As String) status = value End Set End Property End Class

8. In the Solution Explorer, right-click Central.vb and click View Code
9. Just above the first line, type Imports System.Collections and, in the class, declare an ArrayList variable named lstRentalProperties
    

   Imports System.Collections Public Class Central Private lstRentalProperties As ArrayList End Class

10. In the Class Name combo box, select (Central Events)
11. In the Method Name combo box, select Load and initialize the variable as follows:
     

    Private Sub Central_Load(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles Me.Load lstRentalProperties = New ArrayList End Sub

12. Re-display the Central form
13. In the Menus & Toolbars section of the Toolbox, click the MenuStrip button and click the form
14. While the menu strip is still selected, in the Properties window, click (Name) and type mnuMain
15. In the Common Controls section of the Toolbox, click ListView and click the form
16. While the picture box is still selected, in the Properties window, change its characteristics as follows:
    Dock: Fill
    FullRowSelect: True
    GridLines: True
    (Name): lvwRentalProperties
    View: Details
    HeaderStyle: Nonclickable
17. Still in the Properties window, click Columns and click its ellipsis button
18. Create the columns as follows:
     

    (Name)	Text	TextAlign	Width
    colPropertyCode	Prop Code
    colPropertyType	Property Type	Center	80
    colBedrooms	Bedrooms	Right
    colBathrooms	Bathrooms	Right	62
    colMonthlyRent	Monthly Rent	Right	75
    colStatus	Status

19. Click OK
20. In the Menus & Toolbars section of the Toolbox, click the ContextMenuStrip button and click the form
21. While the menu strip is still selected, in the Properties window, click (Name) and type cmsProperties
22. On the form, click the list view
23. In the Properties window, click ContextMenuStrip and select cmsProperties

You may notice that some menu items have a letter underlined. Using this letter allows the user to access the menu using a keyboard. For example, if the letter F is underline in a File menu as in File, the user can access the File menu by pressing the Alt, then the F keys. To create this functionality, choose a letter on the menu item and precede it with the & character. For example, &File would produce File. You can apply the same principle if you are programmatically creating the menu. Here are two examples:

Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuFile = New ToolStripMenuItem("&File")
            mnuFileNew = New ToolStripMenuItem("&New")

            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileNew)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFile)

End Sub

After creating the menu, to use it, the user can press Alt or F10:

1. Under the form, click mnuMain
2. In the Properties window, click Items and click its ellipsis button
3. In the Items Collection Editor, make sure MenuItem is selected in the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box and click Add
4. While toolStripMenuItem1 is selected in the Members combo box, in the right list, change the following characteristics:
   Text: &File
   (Name): mnuFile
5. Still in the right list, click DropDownItems and click its ellipsis button
6. In the Items Collection Editor, make sure MenuItem is selected in the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box and click Add
7. While toolStripMenuItem1 is selected in the Members combo box, in the right list, change the following characteristics:
   Text: &New Property
   (Name): mnuFileNewProperty
8. In the Items Collection Editor (mnuFile.DropDownItems), click OK
9. In the Items Collection Editor, click OK

A shortcut is a key or a combination of keys that the user can press to perform an action that can also be performed using a menu item. When creating a menu, to specify a shortcut, use the ShortcutKeys property.

To visually specify a shortcut, in the menu designer, click the menu item. In the Properties window, click ShortcutKeys and click the arrow of the field, a window would come up:

To specify just a letter for the shortcut, you can click the arrow of the combo box on the left side of the Reset button. A list would come up from which you can select the desired letter:

You are probably more familiar with shortcuts made of combinations of keys, such as Ctrl + N, Alt + F6, or Ctrl + Alt + Delete. To visually create such a shortcut, click the check box(es) and select the desired letter.

If you have used applications like Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop, you may know that they don't show all of their shortcuts on the menu. If you want to hide a shortcut, after specifying it, in the Properties window, set the ShowShortcutKeys property to False.

To programmatically specify a shortcut, assign a key or a combination of keys to the ShortcutKeys property of the ToolStripMenuItem class. The ShortcutKeys property is of type Keys, which is an enumeration of the various keys of a keyboard recognized by Microsoft Windows. Here is an example:

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Module Exercise

    Public Class Starter
        Inherits Form

        Private mnuMain As MenuStrip
        Private mnuFile As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFileNew As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFileExit As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFormat As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFormatFont As ToolStripMenuItem

        Dim components As System.ComponentModel.Container

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuFile = New ToolStripMenuItem("&File")
            mnuFileNew = New ToolStripMenuItem("&New")

            mnuFileExit = New ToolStripMenuItem("E&xit")

            mnuFormat = New ToolStripMenuItem("For&mat")
            mnuFormatFont = New ToolStripMenuItem("Fo&nt")

            mnuFormatFont.ShortcutKeys = Keys.F4

            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileNew)
            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileExit)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFile)

            mnuFormat.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFormatFont)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFormat)

        End Sub

    End Class

    Function Main() As Integer

        Dim frmStart As Starter = New Starter

        Application.Run(frmStart)

        Return 0
    End Function

End Module 

This would produce:

To create a shortcut that is a combination of keys, use the bit manipulation operator OR represented by |. Here is an example:

Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuFile = New ToolStripMenuItem("&File")
            mnuFileNew = New ToolStripMenuItem("&New")

            mnuFileNew.ShortcutKeys = Keys.Control Or Keys.N

            mnuFileExit = New ToolStripMenuItem("E&xit")

            mnuFormat = New ToolStripMenuItem("For&mat")
            mnuFormatFont = New ToolStripMenuItem("Fo&nt")

            mnuFormatFont.ShortcutKeys = Keys.F4

            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileNew)
            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileExit)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFile)

            mnuFormat.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFormatFont)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFormat)

End Sub

This would produce:

Normally, when you have associated a shortcut with a menu item, when the user displays the menu, the shortcut would appear. In some applications, you may want to hide the shortcut. To support this, the ToolStripMenuItem class is equipped with the Boolean ShowShortcutKeys property. The default value of this property is true. If you want to hide the shortcut, you can set this property to false.

1. Under the form, click mnuMain
2. In the Properties window, click Items and click its ellipsis button
3. In the Members list of the Items Collection Editor, click mnuFile
4. On the right side, click DropDownItems and click its ellipsis button
5. In the Members list, click mnuFileNewProperty
6. In the right list, click ShortcutKeys and click the arrow of its combo box
7. In the window that appears, click the Ctrl check box
8. Click the arrow of the combo box next to Reset, scroll down and select N
9. In the Items Collection Editor (mnuTools.DropDownItems), click OK
10. In the Items Collection Editor, click OK

When a user has clicked a menu item, an action is supposed to occur. In some cases, an intermediary action is necessary before performing or completing the action. To indicate that an intermediary action is needed for the action related to the menu item, Microsoft standards suggest that the menu's text be followed by three periods. For example, in WordPad, if you want to display the date or the time or both on a document, you must open a dialog box that would present various options for you to choose how the date/time should be displayed. To indicate that you will perform a primary action before displaying the value, the menu that leads to it shows three periods:

In this case, when you click the menu item, a dialog box would come up for you to select the desired value.

There is no programmatic relationship between the application and the menu item that displays three periods. It is only a suggestion to show them. Therefore, when creating a menu item, if you know that an intermediary action will be used to perform or complete the actual action, add three periods on the right side of its text. Here is an example:

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Module Exercise

    Public Class Starter
        Inherits Form

        Private mnuMain As MenuStrip
        Private mnuSelect As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuSelectColor As ToolStripMenuItem

        Dim components As System.ComponentModel.Container

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuSelect = New ToolStripMenuItem("&Select")

            mnuSelectColor = New ToolStripMenuItem("Background Color...")

            mnuSelect.DropDownItems.Add(mnuSelectColor)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuSelect)

        End Sub

    End Class

    Function Main() As Integer

        Dim frmStart As Starter = New Starter

        Application.Run(frmStart)

        Return 0
    End Function

End Module

This would produce:

Because the three periods indicate to the user that an intermediary action will be performed, when implementing the code for the menu item, make sure you provide that intermediary action. Here is an example:

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Module Exercise

    Public Class Starter
        Inherits Form

        Private mnuMain As MenuStrip
        Private mnuSelect As ToolStripMenuItem
        Friend WithEvents mnuSelectColor As ToolStripMenuItem

        Dim components As System.ComponentModel.Container

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuSelect = New ToolStripMenuItem("&Select")

            mnuSelectColor = New ToolStripMenuItem("Background Color...")

            mnuSelect.DropDownItems.Add(mnuSelectColor)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuSelect)

        End Sub

        Private Sub SelectBackgroundColor(ByVal sender As Object, _
                                          ByVal e As EventArgs) _
                                          Handles mnuSelectColor.Click
            Dim dlgColor As ColorDialog = New ColorDialog

            If dlgColor.ShowDialog() = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
                BackColor = dlgColor.Color
            End If
        End Sub
    End Class

    Function Main() As Integer

        Dim frmStart As Starter = New Starter

        Application.Run(frmStart)

        Return 0
    End Function

End Module

1. Under the form, click cmsProperties
2. In the Properties window, click Items and click its ellipsis button
3. In the Select Items And Add To List Below combo box, make sure MenuItem is selected and click Add
4. On the right side, click Text and type New Property...
5. Click (Name) and type mnuProperty
6. Click Shortcut and click the arrow of its combo box
7. Click the Ctrl check box and click the arrow of the combo box to select N
8. In the Items Collection Editor, click OK
9. On the main menu, click Project -> Add Windows Form
10. Set the Name to PropertyEditor and click Add
11. Design the form as follows:
     

    Control Text Name Other Properties Label Property Code:     TextBox   txtPropertyCode   Button OK btnOK DialogResult: OK Label   Property Type:   ComboBox Unknown cbxPropertyTypes Items: Unknown Apartment Townhouse Single Family Button Cancel btnCalncel DialogResult: Cancel Label Bedrooms:     TextBox 0 txtBedrooms   Label Bathrooms:     TextBox 0.00 txtBathrooms   Label Monthly Rent:     TextBox 0.00 txtMonthlyRent   Label Occupancy Status:     ComboBox Unknown cbxStatus Unknown Available Occupied Needs Repair
    Form	FormBorderStyle:	FixedDialog
    	Text:	Solas Property Rental - Property Editor
    	StartPosition:	CenterScreen
    	AcceptButton:	btnOK
    	CancelButton:	btnCancel
    	MaximizeBox:	False
    	MinimizeBox:	False
    	ShowInTaskbar:	False

12. In the Solution Explorer, right-click Central.vb and click View Code
13. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuProperty
14. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuProperty_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuProperty.Click Dim RandomCode As Random Dim Editor As PropertyEditor Dim SampleProperty As RentalProperty Dim strCode1 As String, strCode2 As String RandomCode = New Random strCode1 = CStr(RandomCode.Next(100, 999)) strCode2 = CStr(RandomCode.Next(100, 999)) Editor = New PropertyEditor Editor.txtPropertyCode.Text = strCode1 & "-" & strCode2 If Editor.ShowDialog() = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then SampleProperty = New RentalProperty SampleProperty.PropertyCode = Editor.txtPropertyCode.Text SampleProperty.PropertyType = Editor.cbxPropertyTypes.Text SampleProperty.Bedrooms = CInt(Editor.txtBedrooms.Text) SampleProperty.Bathrooms = CSng(Editor.txtBathrooms.Text) SampleProperty.MonthlyRent = CDbl(Editor.txtMonthlyRent.Text) SampleProperty.OccupancyStatus= Editor.cbxStatus.Text lstRentalProperties.Add(SampleProperty) End If lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) Next End If End Sub

15. Return to the Central form
16. On the form, click File and click New Property
17. In the Properties window, edit its Text property to display &New Property...
18. On the form, click File and double-click New Property
19. Implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuFileNewProperty_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuFileNewProperty.Click mnuProperty_Click(sender, e) End Sub

20. Execute the application and try creating the following properties (let the computer generate the properties codes):
     

    Property Types	Bedrooms	Bathrooms	Monthly Rent	Status
    Apartment	1	1	925	Occupied
    Apartment	2	1	1150.50	Available
    Single Family	5	3.5	2250.85	Occupied
    Townhouse	3	2.5	1750	Occupied
    Townhouse	4	2.5	1920.50	Available
    Single Family	4	2.5	2140.50	Needs Repair
    Apartment	3	2	1250.25	Available
    Townhouse	3	1.5	1650.50	Occupied

21. Close the form and return to your programming environment

As we will see in later sections, there are various ways you can make a menu look good and you have many options to configure menu items. One of the ways you can manage menu items is to group them in small entities of your choice. You can do this either for the looks or for aesthetic reasons.

A menu separator is a horizontal line among some menu items to visually divide them. Here is an example:

There are two reasons you would use a separator. You can use a separator just for aesthetic reasons, to make your menu look good. Another, more valuable reason, is to create groups of menu items and show their belonging together by showing a line separating one group from another.

To visually specify a separator, when creating the menu item, set its string to a simple -.

To support menu separators, the .NET Framework provides the ToolStripSeparator class, which is derived from ToolStripItem. To programmatically create a separator, declare a handle to ToolStripSeparator, initialize it using the new operator, add it to the Items property of the ToolStripItem menu category that will hold the separator. Here is an example:

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Module Exercise

    Public Class Starter
        Inherits Form

        Private mnuMain As MenuStrip
        Private mnuFile As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFileNew As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuSeparator As ToolStripSeparator
        Friend WithEvents mnuFileExit As ToolStripMenuItem

        Dim components As System.ComponentModel.Container

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuFile = New ToolStripMenuItem("&File")
            mnuFileNew = New ToolStripMenuItem("&New")
            mnuFileNew.ShortcutKeys = Keys.Control Or Keys.N

            mnuSeparator = New ToolStripSeparator

            mnuFileExit = New ToolStripMenuItem("E&xit")

            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileNew)
            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuSeparator)
            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileExit)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFile)

        End Sub

        Private Sub FileExiting(ByVal sender As Object, _
                                          ByVal e As EventArgs) _
                                          Handles mnuFileExit.Click
            End
        End Sub
    End Class

    Function Main() As Integer

        Dim frmStart As Starter = New Starter

        Application.Run(frmStart)

        Return 0
    End Function

End Module

This would produce:

1. On the (Central) form, click File and, under New Property, click Type Here
2. Type - and press Enter
3. Under the new separator, click Type Here, type E&xit and press Enter
4. On the form, click File and click Exit
5. In the Properties window, change the (Name) to mnuFileExit
6. On the form, click File and double-click Exit
7. Implement the event as follows:
    

   Private Sub mnuFileExit_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuFileExit.Click End End Sub

8. Execute the application to test it
9. Close the form using its main menu and return to your programming environment
10. Under the form, click cmsProperties
11. In the Properties window, click Items and click the ellipsis button
12. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, select Separator and click Add
13. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, select MenuItem and click Add
14. On the side, change the properties as follows:
    Text: Show
    (Name): mnuShow
15. Click OK

If you have menu items that perform similar tasks, you can put them in a group, which you can do using line separators. Another option is to create the menu items in their own group. The group of menu items that are created as children of a parent menu is referred to as a sub-menu. Here is an example of a sub-menu in Microsoft Paint:

To visually create a sub-menu, under the form, click the menu control that will hold the items. In the menu designer

• If the sub-menu will be created for a main menu item, first click the menu category, then click the menu item that will hold the sub-menu
• If the sub-menu will be created for a contextual menu, click the menu item that will hold the sub-menu

After selecting the eventual parent of the intended sub-menu, click the right Type Here box, type the desired caption and optionally give it a name.

To create another item for the sub-menu, you can click the Type Here box under the previous one. In the same way, you can add as many items as you judge necessary. Here is an example:

You can also create a sub-menu for a menu item that itself is a sub-menu. Here is an example:

To create a sub-menu for an item A that itself is a sub-menu, click that menu item A, click the Type Here box on the right side, and type its caption.

As another technique, after selecting the menu item that will act as the parent of the sub-menu, in the Properties window, click the ellipsis button of the DropDownItems field to open the Items Collection Editor dialog box. To create an item for the sub-menu, in the top combo box, select MenuItem and click Add. Then configure the menu item as see fit (Text, (Name), etc).

Like any menu item, each sub-menu item is an object of type ToolStripMenuItem. Therefore, to programmatically create a sub-menu, create each ToolStripMenuItem item and add it to the ToolStripMenuItem menu item that will act as its parent.

1. Under the form, click cmsProperties and, on the form, click Show
2. On the right side of Show, click Type Here, type All and press Enter
3. Under All, click Type Here and type Apartments
4. Press the down arrow key and type Townhouses
5. Press the down arrow key and type Single Families
6. On the form, click All and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowAll
7. On the form, click Apartments and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowApartments
8. On the form, click Townhouses and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowTownhouses
9. On the form, click Single Families and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowSingleFamilies
10. Right-click the form and click View Code
11. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowAll
12. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowAll_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowAll.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) Next End If End Sub

13. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowApartments
14. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowApartments_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowApartments.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Apartment" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If End Sub

15. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowTownhouses
16. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowTownhouses_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowTownhouses.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Townhouse" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If End Sub

17. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowSingleFamilies
18. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowSingleFamilies_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowSingleFamilies.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Single Family" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If End Sub

19. Execute the application to test it
20. Create a few properties as earlier then change the types of properties to display
21. Close the form and return to your programming environment

Some applications are meant to display more than one form at the same time, or to optionally display and dismiss some forms some time to time. With this type of application, you may need a menu "witness" that can indicate whether the optional form is currently displaying or not. Some other applications may change their view some time to time. For these reasons and others, you can use the menu to assist the user with identifying an option that is currently available or not. You can do this through a check box on a menu item.

To assist you with displaying a check box on a menu item, the ToolStripMenuItem class is equipped with a property named Checked. If you are visually creating a menu, to show a check mark on a menu item, access its Properties window and get to its Checked field. The default value of this property is false, which means the menu item is not meant to display a check box. To show a check box, you can set this property to true. When the user has clicked the menu item, you can then programmatically change its value from true to false and vice-versa.

When the application is running, to put a check mark on it, the user can click the menu item. If an item is displaying a check mark and the user clicks it, the check mark disappears. In reality, this is not an automatic functionality and it doesn't happen at random: you must configure it.

As mentioned already, to support check marks, the ToolStripMenuItem class is equipped with the Boolean Checked  property. If you want a menu item to exhibit the appropriate functionality a check box, you must write code for it, which fortunately is particularly easy (at least easier than it is done in Win32).

1. Under the form, click mnuMain
2. In the Properties window, click Items and click the ellipsis button
3. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, make sure MenuItem is selected and click Add
4. On the right side, click Text and type &Show
5. Click (Name) and press type mnuShowProperty
6. Click DropDownItems and click its ellipsis button
7. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, make sure MenuItem is selected and click Add
8. On the right side, change the following two properties
   Text: &All 
   (Name): mnuAll
   Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+L
9. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, make sure MenuItem is selected and click Add
10. On the right side, change the following two properties
    Text: &Apartments
    (Name): mnuApartments
    Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A
11. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, make sure MenuItem is selected and click Add
12. On the right side, change the following two properties
    Text: &Townhouses
    (Name): mnuTownhouses
    Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+T
13. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, make sure MenuItem is selected and click Add
14. On the right side, change the following two properties
    Text: &Single Families
15. (Name): mnuSingleFamilies
    Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+S
16. Click OK and click OK
17. Under the form, click mnuMain
18. On the form, click File and double-click New Property
19. Change the codes of the Show menu items as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowAll_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowAll.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) Next End If mnuShowAll.Checked = True mnuAll.Checked = True mnuApartments.Checked = False mnuShowApartments.Checked = False mnuTownhouses.Checked = False mnuShowTownhouses.Checked = False mnuSingleFamilies.Checked = False mnuShowSingleFamilies.Checked = False End Sub Private Sub mnuShowApartments_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowApartments.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Apartment" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If mnuShowAll.Checked = False mnuAll.Checked = False mnuApartments.Checked = True mnuShowApartments.Checked = True mnuTownhouses.Checked = False mnuShowTownhouses.Checked = False mnuSingleFamilies.Checked = False mnuShowSingleFamilies.Checked = False End Sub Private Sub mnuShowTownhouses_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowTownhouses.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Townhouse" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If mnuShowAll.Checked = False mnuAll.Checked = False mnuApartments.Checked = False mnuShowApartments.Checked = False mnuTownhouses.Checked = True mnuShowTownhouses.Checked = True mnuSingleFamilies.Checked = False mnuShowSingleFamilies.Checked = False End Sub Private Sub mnuShowSingleFamilies_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowSingleFamilies.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Single Family" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If mnuShowAll.Checked = False mnuAll.Checked = False mnuApartments.Checked = False mnuShowApartments.Checked = False mnuTownhouses.Checked = False mnuShowTownhouses.Checked = False mnuSingleFamilies.Checked = True mnuShowSingleFamilies.Checked = True End Sub

20. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuAll
21. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuAll_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuAll.Click mnuShowAll_Click(sender, e) End Sub

22. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuApartments
23. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuApartments_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuApartments.Click mnuShowApartments_Click(sender, e) End Sub

24. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuTownhouses
25. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuTownhouses_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuTownhouses.Click mnuShowTownhouses_Click(sender, e) End Sub

26. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuSingleFamilies
27. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuSingleFamilies_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuSingleFamilies.Click mnuSingleFamilies_Click(sender, e) End Sub

28. Execute the application to test it
29. Create a few properties as done earlier
     
30. Then change the types of properties to display
     
31. Close the form and return to your programming environment

When a menu item is checked it holds a status to indicate it. To assist you with getting this information, the ToolStripMenuItem class is equipped with a property named CheckState. This property allows you specify the type of check mark to put on a menu item or to find out the marked state of a menu item in terms of its check mark.